


Kiss it better

by The_Amethyst_Writer



Category: Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi
Genre: Alternate Universe - Spies & Secret Agents, Angst, Character Death, Flashbacks, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mentions of blood and injuries, Mentions of past Takano Masamune/Yokozawa Takafumi, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-31
Updated: 2018-01-31
Packaged: 2019-03-11 23:53:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13535232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Amethyst_Writer/pseuds/The_Amethyst_Writer
Summary: They say you can't get rid of your past no matter how much you try it, and Yokozawa Takafumi and Takano Masamune knew it too well. Sometimes life gives you a second chance, but sometimes it's not as easy as it seems.(Secret agent AU)





	1. Prologue Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, everyone!  
> This story will involve two of my favourite ships in SiH: Trifecta (it will be the main couple) and Nostalgia. It's a secret agent AU, so there are a few changes, as for example:  
> \- Kirishima and Yokozawa have the same age and they went to the same high school.  
> \- Kirishima's wife wasn't ill but she's still dead.  
> \- Hiyori will be 7 years old instead of 10.  
> \- Some characters may seem a bit OOC but bear in mind that they will live different experiences from canon, so it's understandable.  
> If there are more changes, I will tell them so you won't get confused. Until then, enjoy the story!  
> Disclaimer: I do not own anything, except for the plot and my OC's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone!  
> This story will involve two of my favourite ships in SiH: Trifecta (it will be the main couple) and Nostalgia. It's a secret agent AU, so there are a few changes, as for example:  
> \- Kirishima and Yokozawa have the same age and they went to the same high school.  
> \- Kirishima's wife wasn't ill but she's still dead.  
> \- Hiyori will be 7 years old instead of 10.  
> \- Some characters may seem a bit OOC but bear in mind that they will live different experiences from canon, so it's understandable.  
> If there are more changes, I will tell them so you won't get confused. Until then, enjoy the story!  
> Disclaimer: I do not own anything, except for the plot and my OC's.

He couldn't believe his eyes.

A lot of years have passed, but he remembered his face as if he had seen it yesterday. All the time he had spent admiring him while he wasn't looking hadn't been in vain, after all. But still, it was quite a surprise to see him right there, wearing a light blue shirt and a pair of jeans instead of the uniform he used to wear years ago. Yes, he had grown up a few inches and he had a stronger jaw line, but his eyes still had the same gleam.

Eyes that, right now, were as shocked as the ones looking at them.

"… Yokozawa?"

* * *

_Yokozawa Takafumi wasn't a very social person. He liked to talk only when he was talked to, and the only times he mingled with his classmates were when he was playing in the soccer team. But, during the lessons, his classmates were a bit (or too much, to his liking) noisy, so he usually couldn't focus and do much things. That was one of the reasons he didn't like to socialize with his classmates. And maybe that disturbance could be seen in his face (and the fact that he always had a stern look on his face didn't help to begin with), so he didn't have a lot of friends back then._

_But that had never been a problem to him. He liked the quietness, and that would be his last year of high-school. Hopefully, his college life would be more peaceful._

_But right now, he was in the middle of the term, so he still had to deal with a few things._

_And one of them was Kirishima Zen._

_That guy was one of the most popular boys at high-school, and also one of the noisiest persons from Yokozawa's point of view. Perhaps that's why they had never got along._

_Until the Economics teacher put them together in order to do a project at the beginning of the school year._

_They had the whole year to do the project, and your partner couldn't be changed, so they had no choice but to work together and try to get along if they didn't want to have a hard time. However, the more evenings they spent reunited looking for information at the library, the more Yokozawa decided that his partner wasn't that horrible after all._

_Yes, he had the habit of making fun of his facial expressions (saying that he frightened anyone who was around him with his permanent scowl), and he also liked to mess with him from time to time due to the fact that he was very short-tempered, but he was a very hard worker, and Yokozawa admired that a lot._

_And lately, that wasn't the only thing he found himself admiring._

_It could be said that he had developed a crush on his classmate. A big, big one._

_Not that he was going to admit it, anyway._

_While they were progressing with the project, a friendship was developing too, and it had become very common to see them chatting during their breaks, sitting side by side on their shared lessons..._

_Nonetheless, Kirishima Zen wasn't the only person he started getting along with that year. There was also his girlfriend._

_Yes, he was the third wheel in that trio._

* * *

_"I think we should call it a day." Kirishima said with a yawn while he was stretching his arms. They had been looking for information for two hours and a half, and his eyes were tired from reading a lot of books that evening._

_Yokozawa was writing down on a piece of paper the research they have done that day when his friend talked, and he didn't bother to look up to answer. "Okay, but let me finish this first."_

_Kirishima started gathering all the stuff they had collected and got up in order to leave it in its place. "Do you mind if I go first today? I am meeting Sakura at 7, and I can't be late. You know how she gets when she's angry."_

_'So they're having a date', Yokozawa thought. Of course. Why don't have some fun with a chick instead of fulfilling your duty as a student?_

_He shook his head in response. It wasn't like he didn't mind, but he couldn't complain about it. They were a couple, so it was understandable that they wanted to get together from time to time._

_Kirishima didn't say anything else for a while, and Yokozawa was starting to frown (Kirishima wasn't a quiet guy after all) when he felt a hand on his shoulder and a pair of lips close to his left ear._

_"Don't worry, Taka-kun, that doesn't mean I won't miss you."_

_Yokozawa turned his face with a surprising speed, and he could feel how his cheeks were turning completely red._

_"Who says I want you to miss me?! And I've told you not to call me by that name!"_

_"But it really suits you, Taka-k-"_

_"Stop!"_

_"God, you are so cute." Kirishima laughed while ruffling his classmate's dark locks._

_"I'm not..." Yokozawa mumbled, diverting his gaze to the floor and slapping Kirishima's hand away from his head._

_He heard him chuckle again, and once he had packed everything in his bag he started to walk away. "Well, I'll be going now. See you tomorrow."_

_Yokozawa didn't answer him, still shaken by what had just happened._

_Why did his heart beat so fast whenever Kirishima-san treated him like that? It didn't mean anything to him, he was that friendly with almost everyone, right? And he had a girlfriend above all._

_A girlfriend he was going to meet right now._

_Yeah, he shouldn't get his hopes up. But how could he stop it?_

_He was fucked up, and he knew it._

* * *

Time passed, and finally the day when they had to hand in their assignment arrived. Both of them had spent a lot of time working on it, so Yokozawa wasn't worried about the grade they would obtain. He was more worried about his relationship with Kirishima-san and the development it was having.

* * *

_"Yokozawa, wait!" A tall boy was running down the hall, waving a piece of paper on his right hand._

_"Look!" He said when he reached his destination, giving that sheet of paper to his now ex-partner. "We obtained an 'A' on the project! We really make a good team, don't we?" Kirishima softly elbowed him in the ribs, looking at him while smirking enticingly._

_'Oh, no', Yokozawa thought. 'Again with the teasing'._

_He needed an escape, immediately._

_"Well, of course we had that grade; after all, I did most of the assignment."_

_"Oh, come on! How can you say that?" Kirishima pouted, pretending to be offended because of that remark._

_"Let me remind you that I wasn't the one trying to procrastinate every now and then."_

_"I have never done that, don't be so mean!"_

_"Getting out of the library sooner in order to hook up with your girlfriend can be considered 'procrastinate', you know." Yokozawa was looking at him right into his eyes with his arms folded, trying to suppress the smile that was starting to form. The look on Kirishima's face right now was priceless._

_"I have my reasons for that, so- wait a second. You are messing with me!" The boy seemed truly surprised._

_"This is my revenge, you know, for all the times you have done that to me." Yokozawa finally let a small smirk on his lips come out. Of course he didn't mean all of that. It was true that his friend met with his lover almost every evening after working together, but he never left the library until he had done his part of the research that day._

_"Oh my God, I have created a monster!" He chuckled a bit, and then put his arm around Yokozawa's shoulders, pulling him closer to him. "But you will never overtake the master, Taka-kun." He said each syllable of the name slowly, knowing that the boy would get uptight in a matter of seconds._

_"Hey, I have already told you a million times-!" But he couldn't finish his sentence due to the fact that the school bell had started ringing, stating the end of the break._

_Taking advantage of that, Kirishima approached him even more and, under his breath, he talked. "You know, the graduation day is right around the corner. I can wait to see you wearing a tuxedo. I bet you will be very hot in it." In that moment, Yokozawa's face turned so red that he could claim to be a tomato and nobody would doubt him. Before having the chance to answer that comment, his friend was walking away, heading to his class with a firm step._

_Yokozawa could feel his cheeks burning up, and his heart was pounding so fast that it felt like it would explode at any moment._

_What the hell had just happened?!_

* * *

And soon after that, like Kirishima had said, the graduation day came.

What they didn't know was that their lives were going to change drastically.

* * *

_Their high-school had thought that organizing a prom, like in most of the high-schools in America, was a brilliant idea._

_Well, Yokozawa begged to differ._

_He had never liked this kind of events, and it wasn't like he was very popular to start with. He had a few friends, of course, but all of them were with their dates, and he didn't feel like being a third wheel._

_It was going to be a very long night._

_He got out of the school building the second he had a chance and lighted a cigarette once he leaned against a wall away from the main entrance, making sure nobody was near him (it was forbidden to smoke on the school grounds and he didn't want to get caught). Lately it had become a habit to smoke when he felt nervous or stressed so he could relax a little bit. And in that moment he needed to stop thinking about something._

_Yokozawa had realized that this night was the last time he would be near Kirishima._

_It was not like they wouldn't see each other again, but they were going to start a new life in different universities and they wouldn't be able to meet very often. Especially because it was obvious Kirishima was going to spend his spare time with his girlfriend._

_Just like he was doing right now._

_Yokozawa had spotted them not long ago dancing among the crowd of youngsters, with a big smile plastered on their faces. The girl was wearing a long backless dress and her hair was braided with little flowers in it. She usually was a good-looking girl, but that outfit made her look like a beautiful princess out of a fairy tale. On the other hand, Kirishima had chosen a tuxedo for that night, just like Yokozawa and almost all of this male classmates. Nonetheless, it suited him very well. More than very well in Yokozawa's opinion (but he would rather be dead than reveal that to him). The only difference with the rest of the boys was that he had a little red flower inside his breast pocket on his jacket, the same color as his partner's dress._

_They really made a lovely couple. And that made Yokozawa's heart ache._

_He knew they were made for each other, and he was truly happy for them. That's why he also knew he couldn't do anything to be more than a friend to Kirishima._

_Sakura reached Kirishima's heart before him, so she was the only one who deserved it._

_After taking the first puff he closed his eyes. 'Maybe it's better this way', he thought. 'Maybe as time goes by, I will forget him'._

_But who was he kidding? He knew that wouldn't happen, but he wanted to believe it. At least until the pain in his heart faded away a little bit._

_Once he finished his cigarette he got away from the wall. He didn't need to stay there anymore, therefore he decided he was going back home. He refused to go inside the school again._

_He was starting to walk when a hand took hold of his arm. "So you were hiding here. I was looking for you. Where are you going?"_

_He didn't have to turn around to know who the owner of that voice was. "Home, so let go of my arm, Kirishima-san."_

_"Really? So soon? Come on, don't be such a party pooper."_

_"I don't want to be at the party anymore." 'And I can't be near you right now'._

_Kirishima pulled Yokozawa close to him, making him turn around and face him. "Let's go for a walk and talk a little bit then."_

_"What about your date?" Yokozawa didn't mean that in a bad way, he was just surprised to see him without his girlfriend. He thought they wouldn't be away from each other that night. After all, girls usually thought prom was one of the most romantic times to be with their lover._

_"Sakura is talking with her friends right now, so we have time to be together."_

_There was nothing Yokozawa wanted more than that, but he knew it wasn't the wisest thing to do. But if it was the last time he would be able to be freely with him, shouldn't he take the opportunity?_

_Noticing the doubt on his face, Kirishima spoked softly, looking at him with pleading eyes. "I just wanna talk to you about something. Will you stay with me until then at least, Yokozawa?"_

_How could he say no to that?_

* * *

_They had been walking side by side for a few minutes without talking until Kirishima stopped abruptly. "Thanks for coming, Yokozawa. I really needed to talk to you."_

_Yokozawa looked at him. He was getting more and more intrigued. What the hell did he wanted to tell him? "Well, I'm here, so spill it."_

_"Wow, so harsh. You could be nicer, I'm not going to bite you. Probably" He winked after saying the last word._

_Yokozawa could feel a slight blush appearing on his face. That bastard was messing with him on purpose again. He was sure it was like a hobby to his companion at this point._

_"Just hurry up. I want to go home as soon as possible, so I don't have all day."_

_"I just wanted to thank you."_

_"For what?"_

_"For everything you've done for me during this year. I don't think you were aware of that."_

_Now Yokozawa was genuinely surprised. "But... but I haven't done anything special to you, Kirishima-san."_

_"That's where you're wrong, Yokozawa. Thanks to our project I've had a lot of fun with you. I never imagined being with you could be so entertaining."_

_He spoke while rolling his eyes. "Of course, all you do is tease me whenever you have a chance."_

_"That's because it's easy and funny to do that." Kirishima let out a chuckle when he saw the scowl on Yokozawa's face. "But believe me, if I have been spending time with you it's not only because of that. You're one of the few people I really enjoy being with. And that surprised me because months ago, when we were put together to do the project, I thought that being with the 'wild bear' would be more stressful."_

_Ah, right. Kirishima had told him a while ago that some classmates called him by that nickname because he always seemed angry with them and he had a constant facial expression that made them feel intimidated._

_But what could he do? It's not like he could change his face, and he wouldn't be that 'angry' if his classmates weren't so annoying._

_"But I was wrong." Kirishima continued. "Now I know you're more like a teddy bear."_

_"What the hell did you just say?!" A bright blush along with a scowl bigger that before appeared on his face._

_"As I was saying, your bark is worse than your bite. You may seem like a tough guy at first glance, but on the inside you're really caring and kind. Over time you have shown me your true self, and I know it is hard for you to do that. You just needed someone to break down the walls you have created around your heart."_

_"I..." He looked away from Kirishima, staring at the pavement as if it had hidden all the secrets of the world. He didn't know what to say, he was speechless._

_Sometimes it scared Yokozawa how Kirishima could understand him more than he did himself. That was one of the reasons why he had fallen in love with him._

_Because he already knew that what he felt towards the boy wasn't a crush anymore._

_"Yeah, you still need to learn how to relax and take things easy, but you're perfect this way. At least you are to me."_

_He didn't know it was possible, but his blush turned even brighter than before. Goddammit, did his face have a traffic light complex or what?_

_Yokozawa was also surprised. Usually his companion wasn't that serious or sincere with him._

_But that didn't last long. Of course not._

_He should have seen it coming. It was Kirishima, after all._

_"Well, now that I've been honest with you, this should be the moment when you confess your undying love for me and all that crap, shouldn't be?"_

_That made Yokozawa look back at Kirishima right away._

_And he dared to say that with that fucking irritating smirk on his face!_

_"What the hell are you saying?! Don't be so full of yourself!" In that moment he wasn't sure if his face was red due to the embarrassment or due to the fury. Probably the latter one._

_"Come on, don't be so shy, I'm not going to judge you."_

_"There is nothing to judge! Stop messing around with me! You really piss me off!" His heart was pounding so fast! Did Kirishima really know that he had fallen in love with him? Was it that obvious?_

_He was scared. He didn't want to lose him as a friend because of that._

_"That would be hypocritical coming from me. Because I like you."_

_"I swear if you- wait, what?" He couldn't believe his ears. Did he heard him right, or was his mind playing tricks on him?_

_"And seeing your reaction, I think I was right when I thought that saying that would be less shocking than telling you straightaway that I love you."_

_If his heart was beating fast before, now it has skipped a beat for sure._

_"I-If this is a joke, it's not funny anymore, Kirishima-san." He knew his friend liked messing with him, but this wasn't funny to him. His feelings were serious, and even if Kirishima wasn't aware of their existence, he didn't want him to laugh at them._

_Kirishima took a step forward. "Do you really think I'd joke about this?" Yokozawa looked at him again, and was surprised to see a serious expression on his face._

_… But there was no chance that he meant that, right?_

_"What about Sakura-san?" Yeah, it must be a joke. He had a girlfriend, and their mutual love could be seen by anyone even if they were blind._

_"I love her, of course. Otherwise I wouldn't be dating her."_

_Yokozawa frowned after hearing that. He was very confused._

_"Don't make that face, I was surprised too when I realized that. And if you were wondering it, yes, she knows."_

_Anything made sense in Yokozawa's mind right now. "And she's okay with that?"_

_"In fact, she was the one who helped me to understand that it wasn't that strange. She told me that not everyone truly loved just one person in their lives, and that didn't mean that they loved one person more than the other. It's just... a different way to love someone."_

_Kirishima put his hands on Yokozawa's shoulders, getting closer to him in that way. "And trust me, I do love you, Takafumi." That made Yokozawa look at his companion right into his eyes, the shock clearly visible in his face._

_Apart from the fact that he had told him the words he had always wanted to hear, it was the first time Kirishima had called him by his given name._

_Not Taka-kun, like when he wanted to tease him sometimes. Takafumi._

_Kirishima slowly removed his hands from his shoulders. The area Kirishima's fingers had touched felt cold to Yokozawa once he did that. "You don't have to say anything right now. I know this is a lot to take in, but I needed to tell you before leaving school. You deserved to know the truth after all."_

_Yokozawa couldn't believe it yet._

_So Sakura-san knew this too? And she didn't hate him for 'taking his lover's heart away'? It didn't make any sense._

_Or maybe she truly understood the situation and was okay with it._

_"Are... are you sure you're not just confusing a good friendship with love?"_

_Kirishima stepped forward and cupped his cheeks with his hands. His face was now so close to his that he could feel Kirishima's breath when he spoke again softly. "Do you think I would do this to a friend?" And, having said that, he pressed his lips against his._

_Yokozawa felt like his legs were going to give out, but at the same time a surge of energy went through his body. Kirishima's lips were surprisingly soft, and his thumb was caressing his cheek gently._

_He didn't know where to put his hands, so he grabbed Kirishima's shirt in his fists while moving his lips against his. Since it was happening he wanted to make the most of it, trying to etch on his memory the taste of the person he loved the most._

_The kiss finished too soon for Yokozawa's liking. "Sorry if that made you uncomfortable." Kirishima still had his hands on his face. "I know you weren't going to believe me unless I did that."_

_Yokozawa knew that trying to get rid of his blush was a lost case at this point._

_"Zen?" A voice asked not far away from they were standing, and Kirishima got away from him as soon as he heard it._

_"Sakura? W-What are you doing here?" After hearing that name, Yokozawa looked at her with his eyes wide open._

_She also had a shocked look on her face. She must have caught them close to each other, and not in a friendly way, it must be said._

_'Fuuuuuck'._

_But soon, that shocked face turned into an understanding one. "Sorry, did I interrupt you guys?" She asked while smiling slightly but sincerely._

_So she really wasn't mad at them? He didn't know anyone who would be so understanding about their partner loving someone else too. She truly was too good for her own sake then. And if she was that good... Yokozawa was not one to hurt her feelings._

_Sakura-san was the first one to get to Kirishima's heart, so she was the only one that deserved having it._

_"Don't worry, Sakura-san, I was just leaving anyway." He glanced back at Kirishima. He just hoped his distress wasn't noticeable on his face. "Don't make your lover wait, Kirishima-san. That's impolite."_

_He started walking, leaving a dumbfounded Kirishima behind._

_"Wait, Takafumi!" He ran until he reached him, grabbing his hand tightly. "I-I haven't finished yet."_

_"But I have." His heart was shrinking because of what he was going to say, but he knew it was the right thing to do. He took a deep breath and then spoke quietly so Kirishima was the only one who could heard him. "I can't return your feelings, Kirishima, so forget about me and take good care of her. She really deserves it."_

_He freed himself from Kirishima's grasp and continued walking without looking back._

_He knew that if he did that, he wouldn't be able to keep up that lie._

_Of course he felt the same way. Of course he loved him with all his being._

_But some things in life aren't possible._

* * *

He never saw Kirishima Zen again.

After that night he had received countless calls from Kirishima, but he hadn't answer none of them. He even changed his number phone after... a certain incident, so there was no way Kirishima could contact him anymore. He didn't know where he lived or which university he went to.

Therefore, he only had one thing left to do: to move on with his life.

Life that, by the way, changed drastically again after meeting his best friend during college, Takano Masamune.

Apparently, he was not the only one suffering from a broken heart. And, after hearing Takano's story, he decided his love life wasn't that bad after all.

But the FF didn't let them dwell on it too much. They always had work to do. Just like now.

* * *

"Man, what a day..." Takano spoke as he left the building along with Yokozawa, stretching his sore muscles.

"I didn't know working on shojo manga could be that tiring." They had arrived to Marukawa just three days ago, and while Yokozawa felt very comfortable working on the Sales department, his friend hadn't been so lucky.

"Me neither. In addition, we're a man down right now, so there's more work to do than usual. Apparently the guy's visiting an ill relative. What an excuse just to skip work at the worst time."

"The famous 'hell week'?" Yokozawa asked. Before taking the job, the heads gave them all the information they knew about Marukawa, so they were aware of that term and many more.

"Yeah. You have no idea how lucky you are."

"Seeing you, I can get an idea."

After walking for a few minutes they arrived at a café. They were told this was the place where they would meet some FF members when it was required, and that night Inoue Nanami, one of their teammates, was meeting them. They still didn't know the reason why they were called so soon, so they were a bit intrigued.

"Order us a coffee while I call her, okay?" Takano exited the establishment without waiting for an answer. Yokozawa could see him through one of the windows talking on the phone not long after that.

His gaze lingered on his friend for a moment. Maybe he wasn't as depressed as he was a couple of years ago anymore, but if you looked carefully, you could see that his hazel eyes still had a glint of sadness in them.

He still felt guilty about what had happened to his lover and his family. And it didn't matter how much Yokozawa tried to cheer him, he knew he wouldn't be able to erase that sense of guilt completely.

He had just got up from the chair in order to pay for their drinks when someone banged into him. He was ready to shout at them for not looking where they're going, but words got stuck in his throat when he saw the face of that person.

It was a face he thought he wouldn't see again. It was a face that brought countless memories back.

"Sorry, I-" The man apparently was texting someone so he was looking at his phone, unaware of his surroundings, and he looked up in order to apologize. However, he was speechless for a few seconds too when both of them made eye contact. "… Yokozawa?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's all, folks!  
> English is not my mother tongue, so if I've made some grammatical errors I'd appreciate it if you tell me.  
> The prologue was getting very long, so I'll post it separated in three parts.  
> I really hope you like this story! It's my first one here and I'm very excited. I know it's not perfect, but if you have enjoyed this leave a comment, it'll motivate me to continue! ^^  
> There are a lot (believe me, a lot) of things left to be explained, as for example Takano's past with Onodera (no, the misunderstanding never occurred here, but as you can see they're not together and something very bad happened) or what is the FF, but it'll be revealed in the next chapters.  
> See you soon!


	2. Prologue Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything, except for the plot and my OC's.

Shocked almond eyes were looking wide open at him. Disbelief was clearly visible on his face, but soon joy replaced it. "No way! It's really you!" Kirishima put his phone in the back pocket of his jeans without breaking eye contact with him. "God, it's been forever since I saw you. What are you doing here?"

Yokozawa couldn't tear his eyes away from the smile on Kirishima's lips. Nostalgia overwhelmed him at that moment. His body was there, but his mind was travelling into the past, to the times the same smile was addressed to him.

To the time that warm lips had been against his, kissing not only his mouth but also his soul. It hadn't been his first kiss, but it had been the first time he had felt so... loved.

Yokozawa shook his head slightly, trying to get rid of those thoughts. It wasn't the right time.

_'You're not a teenager anymore, for goodness sake, get your shit together!'_ , he said to himself mentally.

"W-well, I just moved in, and this café is near my new job, so..." He didn't know what to say. Maybe a few years had passed, but he still felt nervous around Kirishima.

And who wouldn't be? Not everyday you see your first love after a long time.

"I work near here too, what a coincidence!" His smile never disappeared from his face. He seemed truly happy to see his old classmate. "And what's your job? If I remember correctly, during high school you wanted to study Economics at university."

_'Kirishima remembered that about me?'_  During their evenings together they've talked about a lot of topics, and one of them was their future plans. It wasn't something very important, but it touched his heart anyway. "Yeah, and I did. Now I'm working in the Sales department of a publishing house, and-"

"Wait wait wait." Kirishima interrupted him. His smile finally vanished, leaving a surprised look on his face instead. "Don't tell me you're working in Marukawa."

"Y-yes, I'm working there, why?" ' _How the hell did he found out that?'_

Kirishima chuckled after hearing that, and his face relaxed again. "Well, it seems that fate want us together. I work there too."

_'What?'_  "Are you kidding me?" This couldn't be true. They hadn't seen each other in years, and now they're going to be coworkers? It had to be a joke, surely.

"I'm not lying, I promise." While Kirishima was saying that, he put his left hand on his chest, over the area where his heart was, as if he wanted to emphasize he was telling the truth. And, as soon as he did that, he lowered his hand again to his side and averted his eyes. "I can't believe it, wow." He spoked underneath his breath, more to himself than to his companion.

Yokozawa could only agree to that. He thought he couldn't get more surprised that day, but apparently he was wrong.

He had seen clearly on Kirishima's hand a ring. A wedding ring.

Yokozawa talked before he could stop himself. "So you finally married your girlfriend, huh?" It was something he had taken for granted, but it was still a big shock to have it confirmed. Since they hadn't kept in touch, he didn't know almost anything about Kirishima's adult life.

And he wasn't sure if he wanted to know more about it or not.

"What?" At first he seemed to be a bit confused about the sudden question, but in a pair of seconds he understood after seeing Yokozawa looking at his left hand. "Ah... yeah, we got married not long after leaving high school. But-"

Kirishima was interrupted by a ringtone. He took out his phone from the pocket where he had left it before, and once he saw who was calling him he talked again. "Sorry, wait a second." He took the call, and Yokozawa stared at him while trying to process all the events that had just happened.

How could this be possible? Of all the places he and Takano could had been sent, the FF had to choose the one where Kirishima was working. ' _Perfect'_ , he thought, ' _just when I was forgetting about him'_.

"Yes, Hiyo, I'm sorry." ' _Hiyo?'_  "I've run into an old friend of mine but I'm heading home." ' _Who is Hiyo?'_  "Meanwhile set the table, I'll be there in ten minutes." ' _That's not Sakura's name'_. Yokozawa was confused, but he couldn't think about it too much because Kirishima looked at him after hanging up. "Sorry again, but I have to go. I guess I'll see you at work. It was good to see you again, I had missed you."

Those last words made his heart skip a beat. He only managed to wave him goodbye as he couldn't utter a sound.

Kirishima had the same sincere look on his eyes as ten years ago, and that was what scared him the most. Kirishima had never lied to him, he had always spoken the truth. He couldn't get himself attached to him again only because Kirishima cared about him. He had responsibilities to fulfill, and he had to be calm if he wanted to achieve them.

His train of thoughts was interrupted when a hand settled on his shoulder from behind. He turned around and found Takano standing right there. "Who were you talking to?"

"Ah, I..." Takano knew about Kirishima – they had talked about their past a lot of times – but he hadn't seen him before so it was obvious he didn't know who he was. "Have you contacted Nanami already?"

Takano knew his friend was trying to avoid the question, but he didn't want to pressure him. He seemed very shaken up and nervous, so he decided to leave it alone for now.

"Yes, she'll be here in a few minutes. Why don't we order the drinks in the meantime?"

Yokozawa nodded, and both of them walked over the register.

* * *

Takano and Yokozawa were sipping from their coffees when a woman entered the café. She wasn't very tall, but that didn't mean she went unnoticed. Her long, blonde hair – so pale it appeared to be white – moved while she was walking. The sound her high heels made could be heard from where they were sitting – that's what made them knew Inoue Nanami had arrived.

Her big, grey eyes sparkled when she spotted her teammates. "Sorry for the wait." She sit down with them, and a smile appeared on her lips when she saw her drink on the table. "Oh, a cappuccino! You truly know how to treat a lady, guys."

"You only drink coffee and energy drinks. It wasn't very difficult."

"Takano-san, you don't know how tiring is to take care of a baby who is teething and to travel all over Japan in order to do the job the FF ask me to at the same time." She sighted. "Caffeine is my best friend right now."

"And for all I know, I think it will be yours too for a while." Yokozawa said addressing Takano with a sly smile appearing on his face.

Takano let his head fall onto his arms, which were previously crossed on top of the table. "Ugh, don't remind me, please."

"We can spend the nights together: while you are working on a manuscript I can feed Yukio or do my research about the company. You know what people say, Takano-san: two in distress makes sorrow less." The girl giggled a bit, covering her mouth with her hand.

The aforementioned groaned but said nothing more. He knew Yokozawa was right. The FF heads had told him everything about his new job, including the lack of sleep he would have due to endless manuscripts and lazy authors who didn't know how to meet deadlines. And he still needed to investigate with Yokozawa and Inoue about the company and the illegal action it may have done.

No, he wasn't very eager to start this new mission.

Yokozawa spoke softly, he didn't want anyone at the café to hear the conversation."Now that you mention it, why the FF have reunited us here tonight? I thought they had already told us all we have to do."

"And they have." Inoue continued with a more serious voice. "But this morning another team found this in front of the gates of the headquarters." She opened her purse and, after a few seconds, took something out of it.

_'A flower?'_  "And what's so dangerous about a flower?" Yokozawa didn't get it. They have dealt with hazardous assassins without trouble, so why they were making a fuss about a simple flower now?

"A flower?" That seemed to get Takano's attention. He lifted his head, and his face turned pale when he saw it. "Fuck... an orange lily."

"I'm afraid so." Her face showed sadness and concern, but it turned into an understanding expression after seeing Yokozawa frowning. "Sorry, Yokozawa-san. You must be very confused right know, so let me explain." She gave him a slightly reassuring smile. "Do you know anything about the hanatokoba?"

"Yeah, it's the language of flowers, isn't it?" Yokozawa directed his gaze to his friend, who was staring blankly at the lily and probably wasn't listening to the conversation. ' _What the hell is wrong with him?'_

"Exactly." Inoue put the flower inside her purse when she realized Takano couldn't stop looking at it.

Takano finally spoke. The color hasn't returned to his face yet. "The orange lily means hatred and revenge."

"So we have some angry people after us. It's nothing new."

Inoue sighted before continuing. "Yes, but not everyday we have Tachibana Sayuri threatening us."

Yokozawa recognized that name immediately. She was the leader of one of the most dangerous gangs the FF had fought against: the Insurgents. And they only focused on one thing: to destroy the FF.

The war between both groups started almost two decades ago, but neither of them had been able to defeat the other on the endless fights they had had.

During the time Yokozawa had been on the FF a few conflicts between them had taken place, but since he and Takano only did research, he had never been on the battlefront. That didn't mean he hadn't fight against them though.

* * *

_A 23-year-old Yokozawa was trying to crack the camera server. He needed to access to the recordings of the cameras outside and inside the building or his team wouldn't be able to continue the mission._

_Meanwhile, his friend Takano was keeping an eye out for anyone coming. "What is taking you so long?"_

_They have sneaked into one of the headquarters of the Insurgents in order to gather all the information they could and 'weaken them' – also known as 'kill as many enemies as possible'. Inoue and the other shooters went in first, getting rid of the men who were at the entry patrolling the area. Since the patrolmen didn't have time to alert anyone before dying – the shooters of their team were known to be as fast as lighting – they could move forward without anyone noticing it. But first they had to make sure they weren't being watched. And that was Takano and Yokozawa's job._

_"They really know how to keep their data safe from outsiders." He had his eyes fixed on the screen, his fingers typing hurriedly. "I'm almost done, give me a few seconds."_

_Takano nodded, but then he realized his teammate couldn't see him so he spoke. "Okay, but hurry up. I think someone's coming" He was crouched behind the closed door of the control room, looking through the little glass it had._

_"Shit!" He was getting more and more tense. The server code was heavily protected, and the bodies among him didn't help to calm his nerves – they had been sedated by Takano and him as they didn't want to kill unnecessarily._

_Takano walked away from where he was hiding, still crouching so if someone was outside the room they wouldn't see him, and stopped by a man's side. "I think we'll need this." He pried a submachine gun out of his hands and slid it across the floor until it reached Yokozawa's feet. After taking another one from other man for himself, he returned to the door. "Just in case we run out of ammo." They had weapons on them, of course, but they never used them unless it was compulsory – they just wounded the enemy anyway, enough not to let them fight back._

_After a few more seconds typing like crazy, he finally cracked into the server. "I made it!"_

_"About time!" Takano walked towards him. "There's really someone out there, so we need to be quick. Let me contact Nanami-san" He took his walkie-talkie out and spoke. "Boss, are you there?"_

_He didn't have to wait for too long until he heard an answer. "Yes. Are you finished yet?"_

_"I have just cracked into the server. Now I'm deleting all the recordings where you and the rest of the team are from the computer files." Takano admired the speed with which his friend always worked, even in this kind of scenarios._

_"Perfect. Now will you please open the door for me? I'd like to talk face to face."_

_"What?" Takano glanced at the door. Through the glass their boss's smiling face was visible. He walked over there and opened the door, letting her in. "So you were the one out there."_

_"Yep. I wouldn't let both of you here without protection."_

_"We can take care of ourselves perfectly fine." Takano and him were older than her, it's not like they needed to be babysat by the girl._

_"I'm very aware of that, Yokozawa-san." She said, looking at the men lying unconscious on the floor. "But don't argue with your boss if you don't want to get into trouble." She spoke with a playful tone, just like almost always._

_'At least she's not very strict with us, unlike our former team leader'._

_"Okay, okay, I'm sorry." A slight smile appeared on his face. They had been working together only for a few months, but he already liked her a lot. And so do Takano. "But admit you only wanted to be with us."_

_"Maybe, who knows." Inoue was smiling broadly while looking at his comrades._

_"We do know." Takano took a switchblade out and started playing with it._

_Yokozawa looked at him out of the corner of his eye. "Watch out, you're gonna cut yourself. And if you're that bored, go to the door and stand guard again."_

_"Yes, 'mom'." Takano rolled his eyes and did as he was told._

_After deleting all the evidence, Yokozawa turned to Inoue. "I'm done, boss."_

_"Cool. Let the rest of the team know in which areas they have to be careful." She took her walkie-talkie out and gave it to him._

_He looked at the screen before he spoke through the gadget. "Akiyama-san, there are armed men on rooms 30, 75 and 82. And keep an eye out on room 46, I think there's an alarm on and I'm not able to turn it off from here." Before going there, all the team had to memorize the layout of the building so they could walk through it without carrying a map._

_The girl took the walkie-talkie back and spoke before their teammate could answer. "Akiyama-san, remember you're in charge of the team while I'm gone. Good luck to you all!" She turned it off and looked at Yokozawa. "Now we just have to transfer the data we're looking for to the memory stick, right?"_

_"I'm already doing that." He answered without looking at her, focused on the computer which was in front of him._

_"Wow, you're a real hard worker, huh?"_

_"I'm just doing my job, boss." Maybe Inoue was still a 18-year-old girl, but she was his team leader so he had to be respectful to her._

_"I've told you a million times to call me by my given name, guys! You make me feel so old..."_

_"You're eighteen, for fuck's sake, nobody feels old at that age."_

_"Shut up and do the task you've been told, Takano-san." Inoue smiled triumphantly._

_"You two are plotting against me today, aren't you?" Takano sighted, but they knew he wasn't mad at all._

_The girl giggled a little. "Who knows." She repeated the sentence she'd said before with the same playful tone._

_"Okay, I think I'm finished here." Yokozawa talked after a while, plugging the memory stick out and putting it in one of his pockets._

_Inoue sighted relieved. "Then we can go back to the FF headquarters at last."_

_"Are you coming with us this time?" Takano and him were supposed to bring the data to the heads as soon as they got it, but the girl usually remained with the rest of the team during their killing spree._

_"Yeah, the heads want me there too."_

_"Have you already got into trouble with your daddy?" Takano joked, finally being able to get back at her._

_"Ha ha, very funny." She said ironically. Her father was the chief of the FF, and she didn't like being told she had got the leader position just because of her family. She was a strong and smart woman, like her father and brother, and she wanted to prove she deserved that job. "I can get my 'daddy' to fire both of you in a blink of an eye, boys."_

_"But you wouldn't do that because you'd miss us."_

_"You got me there, Yokozawa-san." She smiled again. "Well, let's get goin-!" The sound of a gunshot interrupted her. Both Inoue and Yokozawa turned to where the sound came from, and what they saw left them speechless._

_Takano was lying on the floor, clutching his abdomen with his hands. Blood was starting to come out, and his face was twisted with pain._

_"Fuck!" Yokozawa reached for the submachine gun his friend gave him earlier – it would be useful after all –, aimed at the man who was standing on the doorstep and shot him in the hand which was holding the weapon. Said weapon fell to the ground, and Inoue seized the moment to fire at the man on the chest with a gun she was carrying. The man also fell to the ground, but Inoue shot him a couple more times just in case._

_Yokozawa ran to Takano and knelt beside him. "Are you okay?" He asked concerned about him._

_"… Yes, yes, I didn't see him so he just caught me off guard." He sat up, still holding his abdomen tightly. "Shit, it hurts like hell."_

_"We have to keep pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding a little bit." Yokozawa took a handkerchief out and pressured on the area where the wound was located. He decided not to take the bullet out, it could aggravate the situation – he was not a doctor after all. Following that, he helped his friend get up, his hand still over Takano's abdomen._

_"You are really like my mom, Takafumi." He quipped with a smile starting to appear on his lips, but it soon disappeared due to another wave of pain._

_Yokozawa reciprocated the smile. "I'm starting to think so, Masamune."_

_"Okay, I don't wanna kill the mood between both of you, lovebirds, but we really need to get out of here now." Inoue looked out of the room, checking if there were more men out there. Thankfully, they seemed to be alone for the moment._

_Yokozawa and Takano could only nod, and the three of them started walking out of the room._

* * *

After a long silence Yokozawa spoke again. "But we are already on a mission, Nanami-san. Can't another team take care of that?" Yokozawa didn't want to deal with them right now. Every time they had to, they got hurt pretty badly. In addition, he knew the group brought back bad memories to Takano.

And it was understandable, considering his parents were killed during one of the bloodiest mission against the Insurgents. He wasn't very close to them – as Takano had told him – but it was still something that had affected him.

Now Yokozawa understood why Takano was so shocked.

"All the FF teams will work on this, Yokozawa-san. The heads are sure Tachibana Sayuri and her army are better prepared than ever before, so we have to join forces. We'll still investigate Marukawa, of course, but on the backburner."

"Fuck." Yokozawa heard Takano whisper. The man had his head on top of his crossed arms again.

Yokozawa looked at Inoue, hoping she would understand him through eye contact.

And apparently she did. "Takano-san, my father is aware of your situation, and you've already helped us a lot against them, so if you want to stay out of this we-"

"It's okay, I'll take part." A muffled voice interrupted her. "I'll be fine, as always." It was unsure whether he said that to them or to himself.

Sadness took over Inoue. It was clearly visible on her face. "Anyway, we won't have much to do. Just as usual: gather as much data as possible. No fighting unless we need to protect ourselves."

"Won't you be with the shooters?" That surprised Yokozawa. Their team leader was one of the best shooters of the FF, only surpassed by her brother, Inoue Toru.

"Nope. This time I've decided to stay with you, collecting information from them. I'm tired of shooting a gun, it's always the same crap."

Yokozawa chuckled a bit. "Only you would be able to say killing is a tedious job."

"But it is!"

"Don't give me the pouty face, boss." After the incident on the Insurgent's headquarters, the three of them decided to call their team leader 'boss' only outside work, when they were joking around.

Inoue's phone started ringing, disrupting the conversation. "Oh, it's my brother. I'm sure it's about Yukio." She rolled her eyes. Yukio was her nephew, and she madly loved him, but she had to take care of him every time his brother was busy – and that happened almost everyday –, therefore she didn't have enough time to do everything she had to.

While Inoue was talking to her brother, Yokozawa shook Takano's shoulder, getting his attention back. "Are you sure you wanna take part in this, Masamune? Nanami-san and I can do fine without your help."

No emotion could be seen on Takano's face when he talked. "I'm not that orphan kid anymore, Takafumi. Besides, I want to bring them down for good. It's about time."

* * *

They stayed on the café for another hour before deciding to go back home. Inoue said goodbye to them as she took a cab that would drive her to the FF quarters – where she lived.

They witnessed how the cab disappeared little by little in silence until Takano spoke. "Could you stay at my place tonight?"

Yokozawa looked at him frowning. He rarely asked him to stay with him nowadays – they had an affair during their third year at university, but it soon finished by both parts. They were better off as friends. Their hearts were too broken to have that kind of relationship anyway.

But right now he knew Takano needed company. His wounds of the past had reopened after the meeting with Inoue, and they had to be healed.

So he could only say one thing. "Sure."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I've made some grammatical errors I'd appreciate it if you tell me.  
> Yes, I know I haven't explained yet what is the FF – but you can get an idea with this part I hope – and what happened to Onodera, but all of that will be on the third part of the prologue, I promise.  
> P. D: I have done my research about the meaning of the flowers, and in a lot of websites it was said the orange lily means hatred and revenge. But if you're an expert on this area and I'm wrong, you're more than welcome to tell me that so I can correct it.  
> Don't forget to leave a review if you liked this – or if you didn't, I really appreciate every constructive criticism.  
> See you soon!


	3. Prologue Part 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapters won't have so much flashbacks and will focus more on the plot of the story, for your information.  
> Enjoy this chapter – I hope it will answer some of the questions you might have from the other two parts.  
> Disclaimer: I do not own anything, except for the plot and my OC's.  
> P. D: Another character tagged shows up in this chapter, so try to guess who is it! It's not very difficult ;)

It was already late – the majority of stores were closed, the parks were empty of noisy kids and only a few people were walking down the street. And two of them were Yokozawa and Takano.

They were side by side, heading towards the nearest train station. At first they were both enjoying the silence – over time they had come to enjoy these peaceful moments together, when they didn't need to exchange words to be comfortable around each other – until Takano voiced a question about something that had been bugging him for a bit. "Will you tell me who was that man now that you're more at ease?"

Yokozawa glanced at him, his eyes a bit more open for an instant as he didn't expect that question. He himself had forgotten about Kirishima's issue for a short while – the return of the Insurgents was invading his mind at the moment. They were a very dangerous threat, who could blame him? He had wriggled out of the explanation at the café thanks to the meeting with Inoue, but now he couldn't run away. "Well, I..." He didn't know what to say. He knew that if he mentioned Kirishima to Takano, he would be reminded of his first love too – and the impossibility of meeting with him again –, and the man was hurt enough to cause him more pain. But he also knew that lying to his friend was a very bad idea, and he didn't want to do that to start with.

"It must be someone you don't get along with if you're like this because of him." Takano was eyeing him curiously and a bit concerned. When he ended the call with Inoue he found Yokozawa pretty shocked, but not in a good way – as when you run into an acquaintance or a friend you haven't seen in a while –, so he wanted to know who the stranger was.

Yokozawa shook his head slightly while looking at his friend. "It's... it's not that." He sighted. He had no choice but to tell him the truth – otherwise Takano wouldn't stop until he got what he wanted. "Actually, we got along very well a long time ago. I was just surprised to see him there."

"Is he a childhood friend then?"

"Not exactly. We were on the same class for many years, but it wasn't until our senior year that we started getting along." He didn't say Kirishima's name, but he knew Takano would get his point. After all, he had told him almost everything about their story.

"But then- wait a moment." Takano stopped talking abruptly. "Do you mean...?"

Yokozawa nodded before Takano finished the question. "Yes, it was Kirishima." He broke eye contact before answering and looked straight ahead. "But seeing him wasn't what struck me the most. At least not entirely."

"Did you two talked?" Now Takano was truly concerned about Yokozawa. He first heard about Kirishima during a night at a bar after they got drunk. Takano had already told him everything about Onodera – at least everything not related to the FF as Yokozawa still didn't know a thing about it back then – and he was surprised to find out that his friend also had his heart broken by a man. Yokozawa had been taking care of him since they met – he always cooked for him to make sure he ate as much as he should, he took care of his cat Sorata most of the time, he took him out whenever the memories overwhelmed him... –, and when Takano discovered that detail about his life, he decided to help Yokozawa as much as he had already helped him. He owed that to him after everything.

"Not too much, but long enough to know he also works at Marukawa." He decided not to tell Takano about the wedding ring. He didn't want to talk about that right now, and they already had enough on their plate with their current job.

" _What_?" He stopped walking when he heard Yokozawa due to the shock.

"Yeah, that was my reaction too." He was really pissed at the FF. Why the hell did they have to make him work at the same place as Kirishima? Weren't there more men that could have done this mission instead of him?

They started walking again after a few seconds in silence. The train station was already in sight. "Wow, you really have terrible luck."

"Geez, thank you." Yokozawa said sarcastically. But he agreed with him.  _'I must had done something terribly bad in my previous life to have such bad luck in this one'_ , he thought bitterly.

"You know, maybe this is a sign." Takano voiced when they were entering the train station.

"A sign for what?"

"Maybe fate wants you together."

_'Kirishima said the same thing before'_ , Yokozawa recalled surprised.  _'Anyway, if fate wants to tell me something about my life, it surely is "Look how I'm laughing in your face and you can do nothing about it"'_. "Don't say stupid things, Takano. Did working with shojo manga make you go insane?"

"Not yet." He grimaced, thinking about all the things he will have to do the following day at work. And the following days until they finish their mission. "But I really mean it. If I were you, I wouldn't miss the chance to rekindle the friendship."

"I don't have time for that, and you know it. We have a mission to complete at Marukawa, and now we have even more work to do with the issue of the Insurgents."

Takano sighted. "You can't run from him and your feelings forever, Yokozawa. You've already done it once, and look what it did to you."

Yokozawa glanced at him, taken aback by the seriousness on his voice and face. Deep inside he know his friend was right. Back then he only avoided the situation by not answering Kirishima's calls and not meeting with him again, but he was sure he couldn't have been able to face him again without revealing his true feelings.

During the time he had been friends with Kirishima he had also befriended his girlfriend. And if he had ever told the truth about his feelings for Kirishima, it would have hurt her for sure, and he didn't have the heart to do that – after all, she had always been kind to him. It was obvious they were head over heels in love, so he decided to cut all ties with the man in order not to interfere with their relationship. And that night he had discovered he did the right thing – they were married and surely living a happy life right now.

But the question was, did Kirishima also cut the ties with him after all this time? After all, Kirishima had told him he loved him – and kissed him to prove it. Even so, Yokozawa still believed he was just confused at that time. Maybe he and his girlfriend were going through a rough patch back then and he found comfort in his relationship with him.

_'Yes, it had to be that'_. He had seen them together, and he knew he couldn't compete with her. She knew how to make Kirishima happy, and he only made him laugh when he teased him – and that wasn't love in Yokozawa's opinion.

Maybe his decision had made himself unhappier these ten years, but if it had made Kirishima and his now-wife have a good life together... He was okay with that.

When Takano realized Yokozawa wasn't going to respond, he went on talking. "You can straighten everything out with him, and if it goes wrong just remember that when we're finished with the mission, we don't have to set foot on Marukawa again, and you can go on with your life as you've been doing until now."

_'That's true'_ , Yokozawa thought. The FF always had missions to give to them – they were the best researchers on their team – all over Japan, so they were always travelling. He wouldn't have to see Kirishima in a while for sure. After weighing the options he had for a while, he spoke. "I will wait until he talks to me, and then we will see what happens."

"Well, that's better that a 'no'." Takano was glad his friend at least had agreed to that. If it could make him happier, why not give it a chance? "But if he ever hurts you, he's a dead man."

Yokozawa tried not to smile after hearing that remark. The way Takano worried about him sometimes made him very happy.  _'Even if everything goes wrong with Kirishima, I know I can count on him as he can count on me. After all, nobody understands us better than ourselves when we're talking about heartbreak'_.

They both stayed silent after that while they were waiting for the arrival of the train that would take them to Takano's apartment. Meanwhile, Yokozawa looked around. On the station there were people who had just get off work – it was easy to recognize them, tiredness could be seen on their faces – and a group of youngsters who surely were going to a party or came from one. A tall boy from that group stood out from the rest of them. It must be said that he was very handsome: light-brown hair and eyes that drew the attention of many of the women who were there and a perfect smile that almost glowed. But that wasn't what caught Yokozawa's eye. On his left ear there were four piercings, which reminded him of the ones Inoue had too. Her father wasn't too happy about that when he found it out. Yokozawa still remembered the scolding she got that day – his father's shouts could be heard all over the headquarters.

Lost in thought, he didn't notice the arrival of the train and Takano had to snap his fingers in front of his face. "The train's here, in case you didn't notice. Were you busy checking someone else out?"

"What? No!" If he had ever thought he would get rid of the teasing after not seeing Kirishima again, he was very wrong. Takano liked to mess with him every now and then – thankfully not as much as Kirishima did. "I was just reminiscing about the day Nanami's father saw for the first time her piercings."

Takano smiled a little. "What a day she had. I almost pitied her." They boarded the train and took a seat. "I don't even want to imagine his reaction when he sees her tattoo."

"Oh, God, don't remind me that, please." Yokozawa groaned and covered his face with his hand.

That finally made Takano laugh. "Come on, it'll be a funny story to tell to your grandsons: 'Do you see this tattoo? My best friends and I got it after making a bet while we were fucking wasted'."

Yokozawa groaned again, this time louder. "I'm never going to drink with you two again."

Takano laughed even more. "Well, look at the bright side, it is very small and it's on your shoulder, so it's nowhere in sight."

"Not being able to see it everyday doesn't mean not having it, you know." The tattoo issue didn't bother him now as much as before. When he woke up the day after the bet and saw the tattoo reflected in the bathroom mirror, he almost had a heart attack. Now he liked to think of it as another scar on his body – and he had a lot of them due to his job.

Especially on his back.

He shuddered a bit after remembering that. Now the tattoo seemed like a godsend compared to  _that_.

"If it's any consolation, you were the one who screamed less while getting the tattoo." Neither of them remember anything about that night – as Takano said before, they were really drunk – but the guy who made their tattoos – he was a FF member too, of course, a truly tattoo artist wouldn't have made a tattoo on them in that state – had told them everything about the session when the three of them were sober enough.

"It isn't." Yokozawa sighted. Trying to change the subject, he removed his hand from his face and looked at his friend. "By the way, what's the issue with the orange lily? I've never heard about it before."

"Oh, yeah, I've never told you about that." Takano looked at him too and then continued. "As we don't have to do a lot of things and we're not in a high position, the FF doesn't inform us about everything going on. But my mother once told me the orange lily was the Insurgent's symbol. Whenever the corpse of a FF member is found, they'd always have that flower on their hand; or every time they interfere in one of our missions, the lily can be found somewhere near the place where the mission is taking place." Takano's mother was a high-ranking shooter in the FF, so it was understandable that she knew all that information about the Insurgents. "But now it was left in front of our headquarters, so they must have found out where we usually gather." Then what Inoue said before was true. Tachibana must have prepared her troops very well for this fight. "As I said before, the orange lily means hatred and revenge, so leaving the flower for us to find is like threatening us."

Yokozawa sighted again. He was tired of this stupid war. Apparently, both leaders had a disagreement almost twenty years ago, and since then Tachibana and the Insurgents have been trying to take the FF down.

He clenched his fist on his lap. He also felt very angry towards them. Those bastards have killed a lot of his comrades – Takano's parents among them – due to a senseless reason. And Takano and he had been wounded too many times – physically and psychologically – during the fights against them.

They almost didn't make it once too – they still owe that favor to the Inoue family.

"I know. I'm very angry too." Takano continued after seeing his friend's reaction. "But this time we'll avenge our fallen comrades and defeat the Insurgents definitely. Everything will be fine after this."

Yokozawa really wanted to believe him. He was fed up with this situation, constantly watching out for any sneak attack they could receive.

Sometimes he missed his old life, when he didn't know a thing about the FF, the Insurgents and any other thing related to them. But he couldn't go back to his peaceful days anymore. Not since the day when everything changed.

* * *

_After getting out of class, Yokozawa headed towards Takano's apartment. They were going to drink a little bit there – they didn't like the big crowds that were usually on a bar on a Friday night – and hopefully have a good time. But apparently Takano had run out of alcohol, so he went to a convenience store to buy some beers._

_That's why Yokozawa was sitting alone on the couch, flipping channels without paying attention to the TV. His mind was busy enough thinking about the crush he was starting to develop towards the owner – or rather the lodger – of the apartment. He knew it wasn't love – he wasn't ready for that yet even if two years had already went by since he last saw Kirishima –, and he was grateful for that. Takano was still mourning his first love's death, so it was obvious he wouldn't want to have that kind of relationship now._

_The front door opened with a loud bang, interrupting his thoughts. That made Yokozawa frown. 'Takano is not that brute'. He was confused, but he let it slide. 'Maybe he has bumped into that nosy neighbor again'. "Takano, did you get the beers?" A few seconds passed and there was still no answer. "Takano?" He got up from the couch in order to go to the entry and look for his friend. But before he could take a step forward, someone entered the living room._

_Someone who wasn't Takano._

_"I'm looking for him too, what a coincidence. Perhaps you can help me find him." That figure and voice belonged to a man who was taller and brawnier than him. All of his clothes were black, and there was a big scar on his left eye._

_Yokozawa was scared, but not because of the intruder's appearance._

_The mysterious man had a large knife on his hand. And he was pointing it towards him._

_Yokozawa stepped back slowly, without breaking eye contact. 'What the hell is happening?'_

_"Don't be afraid. If you cooperate I won't hurt you." His voice gave Yokozawa chills._

_He needed to find something to defend himself. 'If I recall correctly, I left a knife in the sink after making dinner. I just have to get it without him noticing'. He approached the kitchen area trying to stay calm as much as possible – so the man won't find out what he was trying to do. 'I should distract him in the meantime'. "W-Who are you?"_

_"Oh, that's not of your business, boy. Your friend has something that's mine, therefore you must understand why I'm looking for him, right?" The man continued walking towards him, the knife still help up. "And you seem to be a good and intelligent person, so I'm sure you will tell me where he is."_

_'Takano has something that's his? Shit, Takano, what have you got yourself into?' "He went o-out."_

_"Yes, I've already noticed that, I'm not that stupid." The man was approaching him even more. "But you are going to call him and tell him to come home right now, aren't you?"_

_Yokozawa finally reached the kitchen counter and he started to feel around the sink with his hand, still facing the intruder. "He left his phone at home." His voice was quivering. What he had said was a lie, of course, but maybe it could buy him some time._

_The man was now four or five steps away from him. "Oh, what a pity." 'Did he really went for it?' "I didn't want to hurt you, but if you don't want to help me then..." 'Oh, fuck'. And all of a sudden he tackled him to the ground._

_The man had his knife pointing towards his neck, ready to slit his throat, but Yokozawa was quicker._

_Before falling, Yokozawa had found the kitchen knife, and he wasted no time and plunged it in the man's side. The man groaned and stayed still for a second because of the pain. The man's knife had pierced a little bit of his skin – he could feel a trickle of blood pouring out of his neck – but it wasn't anything serious. Seizing the moment, Yokozawa kicked the man in his guts, throwing him to the ground in front of him. He got up as soon as possible in order to get away from him, but the man grabbed his leg and pulled, making Yokozawa fall to the ground again. The intruder was on top of him again in no time after taking the knife out of himself. "You're gonna regret this, boy." This time the knife was pointing towards this chest, but before he could attack his body fell on Yokozawa, motionless._

_"Are you okay?"_

_He would recognize that voice anywhere. "Takano?"_

_The weigh of the man was lifted from him, letting Yokozawa see his friend grabbing the body and tossing him onto the floor carelessly. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know he was going to come here. If I had known they knew where I live, I wouldn't have left you here all by yourself."_

_'They? So there are more people looking for him?' Yokozawa looked at the man – lying unconscious on the kitchen floor – still shocked and with his eyes wide open. His breathing was a bit labored. 'If I hadn't left the knife out before, I would be dead right now'. "W-What kind of people are you hanging out with, dude? That man was armed! He had a fucking knife, for fuck's sake!"_

_"He's not my 'friend', if that's what you were wondering." Takano was looking at him with a remorseful look on his face. "Did he hurt you?" He crouched to have a better look of his friend and gasped when he saw a blood stain on the collar of his t-shirt._

_"Wait here." Takano walked over a cabinet located in the kitchen and took out a first-aid kit, but Yokozawa wasn't looking at him. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the unconscious man. The blood stain from the injury wasn't very visible on his clothes as they were dark, but a little puddle of blood was starting to form on the ground. Apart from that, he couldn't see any other injury._

_"What did you do to him?"_

_Takano was already in front of Yokozawa again, checking thoroughly his wound before cleaning the area with antiseptic – which made Yokozawa wince. "I electrocuted him." He spoke bluntly, without any emotion reflected on his face._

_"What the fuck?!" 'Did I really hear what I just heard?'_

_"Hey, stay still, I'm trying to stop the bleeding." He put a bandage over the cut carefully – the wound wasn't very deep so he didn't need stitches, but it would take a while to heal completely. After finishing the task, he stretched his arm and grabbed an object which was lying on the floor next to them. "This was the nearest weapon I could find, so I didn't have another choice." He shrugged while looking at the gadget on his hand._

_Due to the shock Yokozawa hadn't seen that object before, but now he glanced at it thoroughly. And when he recognized it, he widened his eyes. "Why the hell do you have a fucking taser?!"_

_"I didn't want to you find this out like this, but well..." 'Find out what? What the hell is wrong with you, Takano?' Takano sighted. He seemed to be deep in thought, and after a few seconds he spoke again. "Why don't you sit on the couch while I make a few calls? I promise I'll explain everything after."_

_He held out his hand and helped Yokozawa get up from the floor. "Are you going to call the police?"_

_It seemed to him the right think to do, but Takano shook his head. "The police can't discover us. We don't want to be on the social media."_

_"'We'? Who is 'we'? Are you in a gang or something like that?" He had never thought his friend would hide something like this from him. He would never judge him for anything. He knew his real personality, he wasn't a bad person – but did he really knew Takano like he thought he did?_

_"I'll tell you later, really. Just wait a second." He stayed in the kitchen area, dialing someone through his phone, and Yokozawa sat on the living room's couch. He really needed to take a sit until he was calm enough._

_Yokozawa couldn't give credit yet. The previous events were repeating in his head on a loop, he couldn't get them out of his mind. But who could blame him? He almost got killed a few minutes ago._

_It must have passed some time because when he became aware of his surroundings again, Takano was walking towards him. "We have a few minutes until someone comes over to take the man to our headquarters."_

_Takano took a sit while Yokozawa felt lost. "What are you talking about? That man said you had something that's his. What are you keeping from me?"_

_"If I hadn't told you this before, it was just because I was afraid something like this might happen to you. You can be angry at me, but please, bear this in mind: I wanted you to be safe." Takano looked down at his hands, which were resting over his legs. "But I guess it didn't work."_

_Yokozawa didn't know what to say. He was upset because Takano didn't trust him enough to tell him everything about him as he had done, but he couldn't bring himself to be angry at him. After all, he had saved his life – although it was his fault his life had been in danger to begin with._

_After a few moments of silence Takano continued talking. "That man." He pointed with his head to the intruder. "He is a member of the Insurgents. Last month his, shall we say, 'group' stole some relevant information from the FF, so I got it back yesterday along with my team, after class." 'That makes sense', Yokozawa thought. Yesterday he tried to call Takano a few times during the evening – he wanted to ask him if he wanted him to bring Sorata to his apartment the following day –but he wasn't able to contact him until midnight. He told Yokozawa he had been at the library all evening as an excuse, but now he knew it wasn't true._

_"The FF? What is that?" He still had more questions to ask, but he had to start somewhere._

_"Oh, right. I'm sorry, it's easier and quicker to say 'the FF'. I didn't notice you wouldn't get it." Takano was looking into his eyes. "The Faceless Front is a group that works for the Government. We take care of the people who decide they can commit a crime and then get away with it. The Government doesn't want to have a public scandal each time we stop someone and arrest them, so we are unknown to the society. We have to do our job secretly. Do you understand now why I didn't call the police before?" Yokozawa could only nod. He wasn't sure if he would be able to speak right now. "Usually I don't have to do much, just do research on this people, so I was surprised to see him at my house. They must be very pissed at my team."_

_Takano got up from the couch and went over the TV area. He turned the TV off and left the taser – which had been on his hand during all this time – on top of a table, and then he turned to Yokozawa. "However, the Insurgents are an exception. Unlike these criminals, they know how to fight, and they try to attack us whenever they have a chance. They don't do anything illegal in order to become rich. They just want all of us dead. That's why you are in danger right now." He approached Yokozawa until they were face to face. "The Insurgents are very dangerous. What happened before to you was nothing compared to what they can do. They already know where I live, and I'm 100% sure they know about you too. It wouldn't be the first time they try to attack a member's friend after all."_

_Yokozawa looked dumbfounded at his friend. His brain was having problems with processing all the information. "A-Are they really that dangerous?" He just had the shock of his life, and Takano said that was nothing? He didn't even want to think about what the man could have done to him worse than killing him._

_"My parents were killed by them during a mission." Takano lowered his gaze right after saying that. His hair was covering his eyes, so Yokozawa couldn't see his expression. "They tricked us and made us believe a publishing house was guilty of murder. Some workers from other publishing houses were found dead, shot in the head. And those workers held an important position, so the FF thought they killed them in order to eliminate the competition. We found more evidence that led us to them, so my parents were sent to stop them." Takano still didn't look at his friend. He started walking around the living room while he continued talking. "That was my first mission in the FF. It was something very simple as I was an amateur: I just had to block an exit door so nobody could escape through it. If someone tried to walk through it, I was told to shoot them. My parents and the rest of their team had other tasks, so we split up in groups after we got in." He sighted. "Well, I was standing in front of that door, getting bored as nothing happened, when I saw a FF member running towards me. She took me by the arm and dragged me to another part of the building. She told me the Insurgents had set us a trap. They had framed the owners of the company so they could take revenge on them and also get rid of some members of the FF. That way they could kill two birds with one stone. After meeting with a few members of our team, I found out we were the only survivors left. That meant my parents have died, and I didn't even had a chance to say goodbye."_

_After staying silent for a minute, lost in thought, Takano continued talking. "We were reaching an exit when we heard screams in the next room. We thought it could be another member of the FF or even an owner of the company, so we went inside and..." Takano stopped for a moment to get some air. "There were a boy and a girl on the ground, wounded and with some people aiming at them with their weapons. I didn't know who the girl was, but the boy... I recognized him immediately." He stopped walking all of a sudden. "He was my boyfriend."_

_"Your what?!" Yokozawa had stayed quiet during all this time, listening attentively to his story, but he couldn't help asking that. He had never thought Takano swung that way as he had always had girlfriends during their time as friends._

_"My boyfriend, or rather my first love. He was the son of the owner of the company, but I didn't know that back then. When we met, he told me his name was 'Oda Ritsu', and the company where we went was the Onodera Publishing House. I still don't know why he lied to me, maybe he wanted to keep a low profile, but if I had known..." Takano clenched his fists tightly. "When the Insurgents members discovered us they started firing at us, so we had to go out without the kids if we wanted to survive. I tried to stay so I could save him and maybe the girl too, but they took me out of the building forcefully. The betrayed expression he had on his face while I was taken away from him still haunts me every day."_

_Yokozawa couldn't believe his ears. He would have never guessed his friend had experienced something so traumatic and awful at such an early age. Takano had never talked about his parents and first love deaths before – and he had never said his first love was a boy –,_   _but he understood why. He hadn't talked about Kirishima with him yet, and his story wasn't even that tragic._

_He tried to speak, but Takano cut him off. "When we were outside, far away from the building, we called for backup and I was sent to the headquarters. Maybe I had received training, but it wasn't enough for that situation. One day later I found out no one survived the attack. I had lost the three most important persons in my life in just a matter of hours."_

_Yokozawa saw how Takano's hands and shoulders were trembling. He was going to get up in order to approach him, but a knock on the door stopped him. Takano went to the front door hurriedly and returned a few seconds later with two more men behind him. 'They must be from the FF', Yokozawa thought. The three men exchanged a few words, and while the strangers went over the unconscious man, Takano kneeled in front of Yokozawa and put his right hand on his left knee. He spoke with a reassuring voice. "This must very confusing for you right now, but I promise everything will be alright. We can't stay here anymore, and I don't want you to go to your apartment until we have made sure nobody is after you too."_

_"Then what are we going to do?" He didn't like the situation at all, but his friend was right. After what had happened to him and what Takano had told him, he wanted to go away as much as possible. But what could they do? Maybe stay at a hotel that allow pets – since Sorata was sleeping on Takano's bedroom?_

_"We are going to the headquarters. I'll talk to the heads and ask them to let you stay there with me. They will be able to keep an eye on you, so you don't have to worry about experiencing this again."_

* * *

What Takano had said to him back then wasn't entirely true. Yes, they let them stay at the headquarters and made sure no one tried to kill him when he least expected it, but he experienced that countless times more.

He didn't want to live forever with a bodyguard near him, unable to defend himself, so he started training with Takano on the headquarters' gym and even learned how to shoot a gun. The heads found out he was good with computers, so they offered him a job as a researcher – like Takano was. And he couldn't deny the offer.

After a year of training, he started participating in missions along Takano and, later on, Inoue.

So yes, he fought against some Insurgent members a lot of times, unlike Takano had promised him.

Because he had decided to join the Faceless Front.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All constructive criticism is well appreciated :)


	4. Remembering the past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is shorter than the other ones, but bear in mind that the three previous chapters were just the prologue and the story begins here, so the future chapters won't be as long as the ones from the prologue – unless I feel very motivated or I'm not able to shorten the chapter.  
> Disclaimer: I do not own anything, except for the plot and my OC's.

A familiar voice calling his name was what woke Yokozawa up from his slumber. "Come on, sleepyhead, we have to go to work."

He was lying on his right side, with a blanket covering him up to the chin. He opened his eyes slowly – as he was still drowsy – and saw Takano facing him with his arms crossed. He couldn't see much because the curtains were drawn – otherwise the dawn light would have woken him up earlier than necessary –, but he could notice that Takano was only wearing a pair of sweatpants and had a towel around his neck.

"I've already taken a shower, so you can go to the bathroom while I make breakfast." Takano didn't wait for an answer and turned around, walking towards one of the living room windows and opening its curtains abruptly.

Yokozawa squinted at the sudden light that came from the window. "Ugh..." His voice was hoarse. "You could be more careful, you know."

Takano did the same with the rest of the windows as if he hadn't heard him. Yokozawa sighted before getting up from the fold-out couch where he had slept and headed towards Takano's bedroom. Once he entered, he saw that the bed was made – his work bag was on top of it – and the cat bowl was full with food.  _'He must have got up earlier than usual.'_ , he thought.

He walked towards Sorata – who was sleeping peacefully in a corner of the room –, crouched in front of him and caressed his fur gently in order not to wake him up. He had brought the cat two days ago to Takano's apartment because his friend wanted to spend a few days with him. Sorata usually lived with him, but he was accustomed to be in other places apart from his apartment, such as Yokozawa's room on the headquarters and Inoue's mysterious apartment – of which no one but her knew the location.

After petting his cat for a few seconds, he stood up quickly when he suddenly heard a few loud noises from the apartment next door. Fortunately, Sorata was fast asleep.  _'Hell, these walls are paper thin...'_

He approached the closet and took out from the top of it – where he kept his clothes – a suit and a shirt. Takano also had some clothes in his apartment, in case they had to stay together during a mission. The same went for their weapons – but obviously, they were well hidden. They couldn't risk the chance of being discovered by a neighbour or the landlord.

After that, he went to the bathroom. The mirror, which was hanging above the sink, was still tarnished from the shower Takano had taken not long ago. He grabbed a fresh towel from a drawer and started undressing. He was thankful that he couldn't see his reflection clearly – as yesterday's conversation reminded him of how he got the scars on his back, and it wasn't a pleasant memory. It brought back pain, regret and guilt.

He shook his head.  _'It's no use to think about that. Nothing can be done now.'_

* * *

When he made sure no one was looking at him – the rest of his coworkers had plenty of work to do today, as well as himself, due to the end of the 'hell week' – Takano inserted a USB drive on his computer. While the files from it were transferring to the computer, he reclined in his chair and sighted.

He had got to Marukawa a couple of hours before along with Yokozawa. He now felt better than last night, but he still had the Insurgents issue on his mind. It had caught him off guard since he hadn't faced them for a long time. And things got really ugly when they were involved, so he wasn't very eager to fight against them again.

But for now, he would stick to his current job: investigate Marukawa.

The FF had some information related to the former managing director of the company that didn't make a good impression of himself, so he and Yokozawa had to look into the data of Marukawa without being caught. But they wouldn't be able to do that unless they snuck into the new managing director's office, where the main computer – in which all the important data were located – was situated. But they still didn't know his schedule, so for now it was impossible.

That's why they needed to make use of alternative methods in the meantime. And today it was Takano's turn to try cracking the server from his computer.

Yesterday his friend had tried to do the same thing, but he had to stop abruptly because he had to go to a few bookshops, asking for information about the sales they'd had that month.

But he wouldn't have to move from his seat throughout the day, so he was hoping he would be capable of at least obtain some passwords.

When all the files were on his computer, he opened one of them – which was a program that would help him try to get into the server – and started working.

_'This is going to be a piece of cake.'_ , he thought, with a smirk on his face.

Until, as always, things turned out differently.

"Takano-san, I almost forgot!" One of his coworkers – his name was Kisa, if he recalled correctly – exclaimed suddenly, a few minutes after he had opened the program. It turned out that Kisa was older than him, but when he first saw him he thought he was a part-time worker who was still a student. Maybe he had a baby face, but that didn't mean it couldn't be affected by the amount of work he had being doing during that week. He had circles under his eyes and it seemed like he hadn't slept eight hours straight for a long time – but everyone in the department was like that too. "Haru-chan is coming today."

"Haru-chan?" Takano frowned. He had no clue who he is talking about.

"He is our coworker, the one missing this past days." This time, it was Hatori – the one who was helping him the most getting used to his new position as the editor-in-chief – who talked.

"Do you know when is he going to come?" He asked, trying not to sound annoyed. That boy was giving him a lot of problems and they hadn't even met yet. First of all, he hadn't shown up in the worst week of the month – leaving the rest of the team with more work than usual –, and now he would have to talk with him about his mangakas, the work his coworkers had done in his place and all the work that had to be done yet.

And that meant he wouldn't be able to continue cracking.

"In fact, he was supposed to be here by now." Mino said after looking at his phone. Unlike the rest of his coworkers, he still managed to smile even during 'hell week'. Takano had once pointed that out to Kisa, but all he got as an answer was: "Don't be fooled by that smile. It's better if you don't get him mad. Ever." And all the curiosity he had until then about Mino disappeared.

"Of course he's late, we are talking about Haru-chan." Kisa said while rolling his eyes. "And he must be enjoying his free time with his fiancée, so-"

"I'm gone for a few days and you're already talking shit about me?"

That made Takano look up from his computer.

In front of them was standing a man, maybe a few years younger than him. He was carrying a bag, hanging on his right shoulder, and his black hair almost covered his wide eyes.

"Haru-chan!" It was clear that Kisa had tried to sound cheerful, but tiredness was still present in him. "You're already here!"

_'Fuck.'_

While the rest of the department greeted the newcomer, Takano rushed to stop the program that was working – without being able to save the sparse data he had collected – and unplugged the USB drive from the computer.

_'All for nothing... The heads are going to kill me at this rate.'_

After putting the device inside his work bag, he got up from his chair and cleared his throat, making everyone look at him and stop chit chatting instantly. "I think we haven't been introduced yet."

The black haired man left his bag on top of his desk – which was in front of Mino's and on the left side of Kisa's –, walked until he was in front of his boss and bowed. "I'm Maeda Haru, it's a pleasure to meet you." When he stood up and made eye contact with him, Takano swore he felt goosebumps all over his body. His tone of voice was polite, but his eyes – which reminded him of the color of the blood – were as cold as ice. "You must be Takano Masamune, the new editor-in-chief, right?"

After being dumbstruck for a second, he blinked and answered. "Yes, and that's why we need to discuss some things right now, if it's not inconvenient."

"Not at all. Besides, I think I've got some explaining to do." He smiled politely and then proceeded to follow Takano, getting out of the office together.

Before they were gone, Takano spoke to Hatori. "Please, take care of everything until I'm back."

* * *

Takano and Maeda went to one of the conference rooms that was unoccupied at the moment, and sat facing each other.

"I've already explained this to Isaka-san before I left, but you weren't here yet so I wasn't able to speak to you."

Takano was listening to him, but at the same time he couldn't get what happened before out of his head.  _'His gaze isn't as cold as before. In fact, he seems to be a nice person, just like the rest of my coworkers. So why did he looked at me like that? We don't even know each other, so it's not like he would already dislike me, right?'_

"As you already probably know, I was visiting an ill relative. My fiancée has a rare condition and she's being treated in one of the best hospitals in England. Perhaps you're asking yourself why she's so far away. Well, she moved to England when she was fifteen because of her health. I would love to have her nearer, but it can´t be possible yet." Maeda sighted, distress clearly visible on his face. "Last weekend she had a relapse, and that's why I had to go there as soon as possible."

_'Maybe my mind is playing tricks on me. Yeah, it has to be that.'_

Maeda hung his head, breaking the eye contact they had been having. "I'm so sorry I left during this week. I know all of you have been overworking because of that."

"Don't worry about it." Takano finally spoke. "You haven't been on holiday, and it's not like you wanted this to happen." He didn't have a fiancée, but he could imagine how painful it could be to be separated from the person you love.

In fact, he knew it too well, but he tried to block out that thought. It didn't do him any good.

"Thank you for understanding, Takano-san." He sounded relieved. After staying silent for a few seconds, he talked again. "And now that I'm here, I can return the favor. So, what is it left to do?"

* * *

After dividing up the work between the five of them, they managed to finish everything by eight o'clock.

"We made it!" Kisa exclaimed happily, throwing his arms up in the air.

"Just in time." Hatori sighted, massaging his left shoulder.

"Well, now we have two whole days in order to get some rest, so cheer up a bit."

"No, Mino, you're wrong." Kisa pointed out immediately. "Don't forget we have to celebrate Haru-chan's birthday this Saturday." He winked at Maeda playfully.

_'What?'_  "Is tomorrow your birthday?" Takano asked intrigued.

"Nope." Kisa answered instead. "It was this Monday." He took his desk calendar and pointed his finger at it, this time looking at Maeda. "See? I marked it on my calendar so I wouldn't forget. I told you, Haru-chan!"

Maeda was visibly taken aback. "I... Thank you for remembering, Kisa-san, but we don't have to celebrate it this weekend. All of you must be very tired and-"

"Nonsense! By tomorrow we'll be as fresh as a daisy." Until then he had spoken in a cheerful way, but he suddenly became very serious, looking concerned at his friend. "Besides, I know you're feeling down right now due to the issue with Kohinata-san, so you're going out with us whether you like it or not."

Maeda chuckled after that a little bit, and a big smile appeared on his face. "Okay, okay, I get it. Then..."

But Takano couldn't hear the conversation anymore. He was gawking at his new coworker, or rather his smile.

He had seen that smile before. It usually appeared on  _him_ , when he thought no one was looking at him. Or when he was talking passionately about what he loved the most.

"Ritsu..." He whispered very quietly with nostalgia. He had already thought about him a couple of times that day.  _'Who knows what would have become of us if only things had turned out differently... I wonder if you would still get so embarrassed every time I tried to flirt with you. I wouldn't mind it at all, as I founded it really cute coming from you. But I would have tried to make you speak you mind more often, because I knew back then you used to be so insecure. You wouldn't even be able to look at me directly in the eyes for more than three seconds without blushing a lot. I also wonder how many books you would have been able to read during this past ten years, since I remember clearly that you used to spend your time buried in books. Maybe you would have surpassed me? I will never know any of this, but one thing's for sure: I would still love as much as I do right now, or even more. I-'_

His train of thoughts was interrupted when Hatori talked to him. "Takano-san, are you okay? You seemed to be lost in your thoughts."

"Ah, yes." He tried to appeared to be as nonchalant as he could. "I was thinking that we could celebrate it on a bar near my apartment. It's not very far from here."

"That's a good idea. You can send us the location and we can meet there by ten o'clock." Mino suggested while picking up his stuff from his desk.

"Well, then it's settled." Hatori got up from his chair and took out his phone. "And now if you excuse me, I have to go and scold  _someone_  for interfering in  _my_   _job_."

"Don't be too hard on Yoshikawa-sensei, Hatori." A knowing smile appeared on Kisa's face, but Hatori ignored it and, after bidding farewell to everyone, he left the office.

Takano did the same as Hatori and took out his phone in order to send the location to his coworkers, but an unread text message caught his attention.  _'It's from Yokozawa...'_  He opened it immediately – since it could be something important related to the FF.

"When you're finished with your work, contact me or Nanami-san so we can meet at the café near Marukawa. Y. T."

To the naked eye, there was nothing wrong with the message, but the three of them reached an agreement long ago. Whenever they finished their texts with their initials, it was regarding to the FF. If not, it was just a common text.

And as there were Yokozawa's initials at the end of the text, he answered as fast as he could.

"I'm getting out of Marukawa right now. I'll be at the café in 5 minutes. See you there. T. M."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I started writing this fic I said that Trifecta was the main couple, but there will be a lot of Nostalgia moments since I love that couple too. So, whether you like one couple or the other – or both, as I do – stay tuned!


	5. Hatching plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything, except for the plot and my OC's.

By the time Inoue arrived to the café – which was almost empty of people –, Takano had already drank a coffee and was in the middle of the second one.

Before he could complain about the delay, Inoue spoke hurriedly. "I know you must be very annoyed right now, and I also know it doesn't take that long to get here from the headquarters, but something had come up and we had to wait there for a while."

"What happened?" Takano looked at Inoue's face, trying to figure out the reason for the delay. But on her face there was only a remorseful look, so he hoped it wasn't anything serious.

"Oh, do not fret about it, Takano-san." She smiled sheepishly. "My brother suddenly had to do something related to the investigation of the Insurgents, so-"

"He passed the buck to us." Yokozawa – who had just entered the café at that moment – finished in her place.

"Hey!" She turned around with a frown on her face and gave him a dirty look. "Don't call my nephew that again if you want to be alive by tomorrow's sunrise."

"I'm just kidding, boss, don't get all bent out of shape." Yokozawa looked down, and a barely imperceptible smile appeared on his lips. "You know I love Yukio almost as much as you do."

In his arms he was holding a baby. He had a black beanie on his head, but a few blond curls could still be seen. Takano had expected him to be asleep – since he usually was by this time every day – but he was wide awake, playing with the end of his green scarf as if it was the most interesting toy of the world. He was also wearing a coat that matched his beanie.

Takano remembered that coat very well. Inoue had bought it five weeks ago so his nephew could have one similar to the coat Yokozawa always wore – and she didn't totally do that just to rile him up, of course not.

"Why is he wearing so many clothes? Tomorrow is April, for heaven's sake, he's going to suffocate."

Inoue sat down and put on the table what she was carrying: one of her many purses – Takano wondered why she would need such a big purse to carry her things – and Yokozawa's briefcase. "I'm not risking Yukio catching a cold, Takano-san. Besides, it's a cold night outside." Takano rolled his eyes. He almost forgot how overprotective his boss could get when it came to Yukio.

Yokozawa took a seat too, with the baby sitting on his lap as there wasn't another chair available at the table. "In addition, Yukio gets sick easily." Trying not to let Inoue's nephew fall down, he took his own coat off carefully and left it hanging on the back of his chair. "Don't you remember the gastroenteritis he had two months ago?" While he was talking, he also took Yukio's coat and scarf off, putting them over his aunt's purse.

The baby pouted and extended his little arms towards the table, trying to catch his scarf again so he could continue playing with it. Yokozawa noticed that right away, and gave it back to him with a remorseful smile. "Sorry."

"Of course I remember. And I'm sure I do it even better than his own father." Takano's words were harsh. He had nothing against Inoue Toru, but he didn't like how he rarely took care of his own son. It was true that he had to do a lot of work for the FF – since he was going to take over his father's position in a few years –, but his sister was almost as busy as him. So, if she could take care of Yukio and properly do her work, why couldn't he? In addition, the man was the only parental figure the baby had, so it was obvious that he should focus on his own child with even more reason.

Yokozawa stayed silent after hearing Takano's comment, as he agreed with him on that. Besides, he was aware that this subject affected Takano more than others, since his parents preferred focus on their jobs rather than spend time with their son when he was younger.

Inoue sighed wearily. They had already talked about this subject countless times before, and right then it wasn't the appropriate time to discuss it  _again_. "Anyway, I didn't want to meet you to talk about Yukio or his negligent father." She intertwined her hands over the table, as she always did when she talked about serious stuff. "Both of you have already been a week at Marukawa. I expect you to have found at least some information about the company that we didn't already know."

 _'I knew it.'_  Takano thought bitterly.  _'We're screwed.'_

"Well, as you said, this was our first week there, so they have been keeping an eye on me most of the time. I managed to get a few documents yesterday, but there wasn't anything that could incriminate the publishing house in them." Yokozawa grabbed his briefcase, opened it and took a USB drive – identical to the one Takano had – out of it. "You can read them if you want anyway."

"Thanks." Inoue took the device and put it inside one of her coat pockets. Then she shifted her gaze to Takano, who was leaning on the chair with his arms crossed over his chest. "And what about you?"

He shrugged his shoulders and answered nonchalantly. "Nothing found yet."

Inoue frowned. "Weren't you going to try cracking the server today?"

"And I did. But I couldn't continue." The face of Maeda Haru crossed his mind at that time. If it weren't for his sudden appearance, he wouldn't be about to be lectured by his boss now.

"And why is that?"

"A coworker came back from England today, and since it was the first time we saw each other, I had to talk with him about his mangakas and the work that had to be done yet. I had to stop the program abruptly because of that, and I didn't have the time to save any data I had collected." Maybe if they weren't on the 'hell week' he could have made Maeda wait a little bit longer, but he couldn't risk being late on his first cycle at Emerald – the department where he worked now.

"Couldn't you retry it after that?"

"I would have done it, but we were by the end of the cycle so I was very busy." Trying to get rid of the built-up tension, Takano stretched his neck. He felt dead on his feet at the moment. He had barely sleep at home during those few days and he never had a break while he was at Marukawa, so he only hoped the next ends of cycle weren't as bad as this one.

Not that he was going to stay there much time anyway.

Due to being a member of the FF, he had to change jobs constantly – since he had a different cover for each one of his missions. But this was the first time he was using his own name and story at his request because he was doing something he liked and was good at – as well as Yokozawa had decided too.

He hadn't told anyone yet – not even Yokozawa and Inoue –, but he would like some stability and peace in his life for a while. He had been working for the FF for more than one third of his life, and he was getting tired of his current lifestyle and the dangers associated with it. So, if he could stay working as the editor-in-chief of Emerald, he would accept it. It was true he had only been there five days and barely knew his coworkers – not to mention the department looked like a pigsty more than an office – but he already felt like a fish in water.

But there was a little big problem. If the rumors about misappropriation of funds and tax evasion were true, it was highly likely that he wouldn't be able to continue working there. Or maybe anyone. If the truth came out, Marukawa could be shut down.

_'Say goodbye to your dream, Masamune.'_

Apparently Inoue seemed to notice how tired her friend was, so she decided to have mercy on him for that night. "Well, at least you tried. But you better find something good by the end of next week for your own sake." She wasn't mad at him, but she was still his team leader, therefore she had to be a little strict from time to time. Even if she knew Takano was very capable at his job without anyone telling him what to do.

"And what about  _you_ , Nanami-san?"

"Me?" At first she seemed to be surprised by the question Takano had asked her, but after a second she smirked slyly at him. "Well, unlike my  _incompetent teammates_ , I have collected some information that will facilitate our investigation." Being careful of not letting her nephew's coat fall to the ground so it wouldn't get any stain, she opened her big purse and took a deep blue notebook out of it. "After cracking the camera server each day of this week, I have taken some notes regarding Isaka's schedule." She opened the notebook and started flipping through it until she reached a certain page and stopped with a smile on her plump lips. "Here it is."

Inoue wasn't working at Marukawa as Takano and Yokozawa did, but that didn't mean she wasn't investigating along with them. She couldn't crack the main server – as that could only be done from a computer connected to it – so she opted to use the 'TV'.

The 'TV' – that stood for 'The Van' – on the outside looked like an abandoned van, but on the inside there were endless materials, components and devices with the latest technology, and a big computer where all the data was processed. It was like a control room but movable, and they often used it in their missions, when they had to go undercover.

She had parked the vehicle behind the main building during that week from time to time, where a public parking was located. From there, she was be able to crack the camera server and see what was happening inside Marukawa in real time.

"If Isaka is out of his office, either because of a break or a meeting, eight out of ten times his assistant stays inside. And usually if his assistant goes out when it doesn't involve something related to work, his boss doesn't move from his desk. So, if you want to sneak inside the office, the moment has to be pretty well planned out." She stopped for a second to put a strand of her platinum blond hair behind her ear. She was wearing her hair up but a few strands were out of her ponytail, and it bothered her too much. "And I have already come up with a plan."

Her statement caught Takano's attention. It didn't matter if the plan was eccentric or 'creative': if it was made by her, it usually worked like a charm. "What is it about?"

"Well, when an important meeting takes place, Isaka's assistant also goes to it, so we could try it in one of those cases. They had one with some of the members of the literature department on Tuesday, and it lasted long enough for you to get all the data that we need."

"Then all we have to do is wait until Isaka calls an important meeting and mission accomplished. It's not that difficult." Takano smiled triumphally and leaned back in his chair. He and Yokozawa had a lot of experience in working under pressure and against the clock, so sneaking into the office and cracking the server from the main computer before the meeting ended was going to be a piece of cake for them. Inoue just had to delete all the recordings where they appeared and it would be over.

Inoue went on talking, her grey eyes still looking at the notes written in an almost impeccable handwriting. "I don't know if there will be another meeting earlier, but we will try it on 7 April."

 _'That's next Friday.'_  Takano thought. "How do you know that before us?" He asked intrigued, looking at her with inquiring hazel eyes. She didn't have access to the main server, so she couldn't take a look at Isaka's schedule that easily.

Inoue shrugged, as if the answer to that was the most obvious thing of the world. "I saw it written on the computer's screen one day." She closed her notebook and stretched out her right arm towards Takano. "Take it. There are a few more things written down here that may be useful for both of you."

"Won't you need it?" Takano looked at her confused, but nonetheless reached out and took the notebook from Inoue's hand, leaving it on his lap.

"Maybe you're not aware of this, but this is not my only current mission. My father has allowed me to work exclusively on Marukawa's investigation this week, but starting from next Monday I'll have another things to do." She spoke with a grimace plastered on her face. She wasn't very excited to be swamped in work  _again_.

"But why have you chosen that date?"

"Oh." Inoue prepared herself for the storm that was about to start. "That's because you will have to attend the meeting, as the rest of the manga editors-in-chief."

"Wait a moment." Takano straightened up and frowned at her. "If I have to assist, then that means Yokozawa will have to sneak into the office all alone."

"Well, he wouldn't be alone. I will be watching through the cameras, so if someone is going to the office, I will warn him immediately." She replied, noticing how Takano was glaring at her with a not so friendly face.

 _'I knew he wouldn't like the idea.'_  She thought resentfully. Both men were thick as thieves. They always worked together, watching each other's backs in every mission before caring about themselves. It was something very admirable to her, but now it would only cause her trouble if she wanted to convince them. "Besides, you will be keeping an eye on Isaka and Asahina if you're with them. That would make my job easier and I would be able to monitor the area more effectively."

Inoue was trying to assure him as calmly as she could. She observed how Takano took his eyes off her after a few seconds, his mouth closed in a tight line while was deep in thought. A few strands of hair were then covering his eyes, making it impossible for her to see them.  _'Well, at least I hope he doesn't want to rip my head off anymore.'_

Seeing that he wasn't going to talk anytime soon, she proceeded to look at the other man with caution. Yokozawa had been awfully silent for a while, and that rattled her – since she knew very well how short-tempered he could be when something displeased him. But, when she finally saw him, she couldn't help but smile at the sight she was witnessing.

Apparently, Yukio had started nodding off, and Yokozawa – who had been stroking the baby's back affectionately since they took a seat – was holding him near his chest so he could lean on it and sleep comfortably.

"Aww, you both look so cute! Where is my phone?"

Yokozawa stared daggers at her. "Don't you  _dare_  take a picture. You already have tons of them." He tried to speak tenderly – something very strange coming from him – as he didn't want to wake Yukio up.

Inoue pouted and kept complaining about how there were never enough photos of him acting like a doting father until a voice interrupted her. "Do you agree with the plan, Yokozawa?"

Grey met hazel when their eyes met. Yokozawa was very aware that his friend was worried about him being alone during a mission, or better said unsupervised by him. Ever since the incident in the bank, Takano had become a little overprotective of him – something he felt grateful for but sometimes it felt like he was being babied. "Don't worry, I'm capable enough to do it. I'll just have to pick an earwig from the headquarters so I can communicate with Nanami-san and be quick. It's not like I'm going to get myself killed by doing this anyway."

Takano sighed. He knew Yokozawa was right. This wasn't a life-or-death mission, so he could get fired if he gets caught at worst. And, if he was denounced, the FF would take care of it so it wouldn't affect him in any way. At least there were some perks working for the Government.

"Okay then." He finally said after staring into the determination look on the man's eyes. "But if you really get caught and screw up our mission because of that, you're a dead man."

* * *

After arranging a few more details about what they would do next Friday, Inoue excused herself from the table and went back to the headquarters. A long night full of things left to do awaited her, and she couldn't stay chatting with her friends even if she wanted to.

But before that, she had put her nephew in Yokozawa's care that night at his own request. He knew she wouldn't be able to watch over Yukio properly if she had to work on some other tasks. Takano wasn't very good with kids, and that's why Yokozawa always offered himself to help Inoue taking care of her nephew when she was busy.

Besides, Takano didn't have a crib and other baby stuff at home, unlike him. After all the times Yukio had stayed the night – and many days – with Yokozawa, he had no option but to buy all those things.

Since Yukio had finally fallen asleep in Yokozawa's arms, he also left the café shortly after his boss, leaving Takano alone at the table reading Inoue's notes thoughtfully.

 _'She really did a good job here.'_  He was impressed by all the information she had collected during that week while he and Yokozawa had barely got a few documents.

He closed the notebook after a while, deciding to read the rest of it in the comfort of his bed. After all, his body was craving a good night's sleep.

He paid the bill and, after getting up from the table, he put his coat on. His work bag – with the notebook already inside of it – was leaning against one of the chair legs, so he bent down in order to grab it. His back ached by simply doing that.  _'Damn it, who would have known editing manga would be so tiring.'_

When he went out, however, he had to stop after a few minutes of walking so he could take his grey-brown scarf out of his work bag and put it on.

Inoue was right. It was a cold night outside.

* * *

Glad that he was finally sheltered from the cold night air, Takano got into the elevator that would take him to his floor. Once he was inside, he leaned on one of the walls and rummaged around in his bag until his hand found the apartment key. For the first time in that week, he would be able to go straight to his bedroom without having to work his ass off before.  _'Now I'm not so sure about wanting to continue working at Emerald.'_

While the elevator was on its way up, he got absorbed in his own thoughts. He didn't like that Yokozawa would have to do all the work while he was on a conference room, doing absolutely nothing related to their current mission. But he also knew that they were running out of time – with the Insurgents threat hanging over their heads –, therefore they had to finish their job at Marukawa as soon as possible in order to focus entirely on the upcoming fight.

How he wished this would be the last encounter with them once and for all.

But he was certain that, even if the FF finally made them disappear from the face of the Earth, his mind wouldn't be able to forget them. They were the reason why his parents, lover and a lot of comrades were brutally murdered. He also almost lost his best friend right in front of his eyes a few years ago. Takano shuddered at the thought of it.  _'I wouldn't be able to get them out of my head even in death'._

The elevator doors opened, breaking his train of thoughts at once. He got out of it sluggishly, putting his hand over his mouth to cover the sudden yawn that escaped his lips.

He walked down the hall, wanting to get in his apartment as soon as possible, but he spotted something that made him stop dead in his tracks.

Or, better said,  _someone_.

A man was standing in front of the door next to his door's apartment. In his hand he had a bunch of keys – one of them already inside the lock – but the man did nothing to open the door as he was busy enough looking directly at Takano.

The eyes that were staring at him were the same ones that had sent his blood into icy creeps a few hours before, but now only disbelief could be spotted in them.

Takano was astonished at the very least. He would have never thought that he would find him there of all places. "Maeda?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to warn you that the plot will advance slowly at first, but one it reaches a certain point, it will get very intense, so please be pacient with it. It will be worth it.  
> Another question had arisen in this chapter regarding Yokozawa, but it will be answered in a not too distant future (or at least I hope so), so stay tuned!  
> Please leave a review so I can know if there's something to improve or you simply liked this chapter or the fic itself.  
> P. S: I have a Tumblr account – where I post personal stuff or some things related to this fic or others I haven't posted yet – so if you want to follow me there, go to my profile. You will see it there.


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